Check Mate
by AliceInWritingLand
Summary: Aang is prince in a far away kingdom, who leaves peacefully under the watch of his tutor. However, he's forced to step out of his comfortable life when his castle is attacked by a sadistic, merciless woman who shares his obsession with chess. AU


Hello! Welcome to my story. I hope you enjoy, and please don't hesitate to review and critique. Criticism and flames welcome.

Warnings: This is a Alternate Universe

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"Aang, wake up. Now!"

The young prince opened his eyes. His tutor was hovering over him, lamp in hand. A sense of fear and urgency was glazed into the teacher's tired eyes. Aang became aware of the screaming and yells echoing from the middle of the castle, traveling all the way to his bedroom in the far, left wing. The entire castle was shaking; dust fell from the ceiling as explosions crashing against the walls.

"We're under attack," whispered the tutor. "Get out of bed. The king has ordered us to hide."

"Who's attacking us?" asked Aang, leaping out of bed.

"I'll explain later." The tutor threw Aang a robe, which he hastily put on, fumbling with the sleeves. Once it was situated, he was ushered out of the room. The pair began to scramble down the corridor, tripping over their own feet as they fled. The explosions were much louder out in the hall. Looking out one of the windows, he could see the right wing of the castle, which was almost completely engulfed with flames.

"Where are we going?"

"Aang, I know you're a curious one," he said, panting slightly. "But for the moment, I'm going to ask you to remain silent."

The Kingdom of An Jiang was powerful, yet off the beaten path. It was not often the kingdom had attacks of any kind, so when they did, everyone assumed something horrible was happening. The king, Gyatso, did his best to insure the safety of all his subjects. However, in times such as the present, it wasn't always possible to protect the kingdom from neighboring invaders. There were many who desired the power of An Jiang.

The screams began to grow louder and closer the to the two. The tutor tried to pick up his pace, but due to his overweight body build and old age, he couldn't run for very long. His breathing grew heavier as his chest heaved. He tried to push himself along, but eventually, his knees began to wobble.

"I smell smoke. Go on ahead, Aang. I'll catch up."

"I don't even know where we're going. Besides, I can't leave you behind."

"At the very end of this hallway, you'll turn left and reach a dead end with some paintings. If you turn the painting of the clock ninety degrees clock-wise, a secret passage will open. Turn it back for it to close again."

Aang grabbed the tutor's arm and laid it over his shoulder, supporting him as they ran. "We're both going down the passage way."

Even though Aang was strong for his age, he was having trouble helping his tutor. The rush of adrenaline shooting through his bloodstream was making his entire body shake. He was afraid—afraid for his father, the kingdom, and everyone he loved. He didn't want hide in the shadows while they fought. He'd taken sword fighting lessons before. If anything, he could at least protect a few people.

"Why can't I fight?"

"Because the king said so."

"That's not a good enough reason."

"Aang, please," he said. The worry he saw in the tutor's eyes most likely reflected in his own. "Let's just get to safety."

When they reached the end of the hallway, they could make out the sound of footsteps. There were several paintings on the wall, each with a different subject. The one with the clock was the most elegant, as each number was represented by a different animal. The tutor turned the painting as fast as he could, causing part of the wall to slide to the left. Aang went inside passage way first, and the tutor followed closely behind, shutting the way behind him.

Once inside, Aang noticed that the lamp did little to light the room. The tutor put the lamp out and shoved it in his coat pocket. The explosions continued to shake the castle, and Aang grew covered in dusk.

"Darkness powder," wheezed the tutor. "Why I put the lamp out."

"Can you please tell me who's attacking us?"

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest with you," said the tutor, trying to catch his breath. "Let's wait by the doorway in case we can hear something."

The tutor looked down at his pupil, the brightest student he'd ever had. It was no secret that Aang was an outright genius who could play chess like no other. His deducing and reasoning skills gave him the ability to predict his opponents attacks. Not to mention, he knew exactly when to sacrifice a piece and when to begin an elaborate trap that would end in a checkmate. In a few years, he'd be the greatest chess player in the kingdom.

"Tutor?" said Aang. "Is it wrong to be afraid?"

"It is never wrong to be afraid, Aang," said the tutor. "It all depends on how you use the fear."

"Use the fear?"

"You can either you fear to be a coward, which would be the wrong thing to do. Or, you can use the fear to heighten your battle senses."

Footsteps were growing closer to their hideaway. Aang took a giant breath of cool, dusty air, as if he was afraid the intruders would hear him breathing. Screams echoed. The murmurs of the enemy were becoming more audible and vicious. The explosions sounded as if they were exploding right next to them.

"A dead end," said a female. "They are hiding somewhere."

The voice was horrible. Cool and calculating, he felt like the voice could pierce his inner thoughts and read him in a heartbeat. It was the voice of a murderer, a sadist, a witch, a genius, and, strangely, a teenager, all combined into a single monotone. Evil.

"Aang, are you alright?" whispered the tutor.

"Yeah," he lied, trying to push the voice out of his mind.

"I think they've left. Let's go further down the tunnel."

Aang nodded, trying desperately to walk despite his shaking. This was when he needed to put fear to use. Not to be cowardly, but to keep moving forward. He closed his eyes and prayed that his father would be kept safe, along with the rest of the castle. The sooner he got out of here, the quicker something could be done.

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